Editor’s Message

With disappointment and relief, I wish to inform the Lighthouse audience that our coverage of the 2010-11 season was our last. Many factors contributed to this decision. Suffice it to say, it regrettably did not work.

When we began operations in October 2008, our primary aim was to shine a light on the New York athletes and events with results, rankings, articles, interviews, photos, and video replays. In those early days, I never imagined producing live webcasts of the Section XI championships, the state championships, the Eastern States Classic, and the Union Endicott Duals. Yet, after a failed attempt at broadcasting the Wantagh versus MacArthur dual meet, a few weeks later we successfully broadcast the Long Island Challenge Finals where the young John Glenn team exploded onto the scene tearing through the competition and defeating MacArthur. We could not have picked a better season than 2008-09 to launch such an endeavor.

Timing in life is everything. We just happened to launch when web companies began offering free streaming and 3G technology was ubiquitous and inexpensive. This never would have been possible without the internet and its favorable pricing models.

When we applied to webcast the state tournament in 2009, Lighthouse Wrestling was the only company that submitted an application. Last season, four companies submitted one. In our first season, a Newsday journalist was present at nearly every event that we covered. When before there was a dearth of articles, in 2010-11 Newsday had enhanced High School coverage in their Sunday edition with wrestling well represented. Last season, MSG Varsity was sending a crew of professionals and expensive equipment to a number of the dual meets and each of the section finals. In 2010-11, Flo Wrestling jumped into the New York market and covered events throughout the state: north, south, east, west, and in between.

While we take no credit for the abundant coverage since our humble beginnings, we are pleased to know that, though we are gone, even better coverage will continue. Flo is in the house. Need I say more?

I’d like to take the time to thank the key people without whose contributions Lighthouse Wrestling would have been a small fraction of itself. First and foremost, I’d like to thank Pete Candito. Through thick and thin, his unwavering support kept the site going for two more years than it would have otherwise. From day one ‘til day zero, he was present every bit of the way giving the best of himself in covering the sport that he loves. He was largely responsible for our Section XI coverage. On our webcasts, he went by the nom de guerre “The Voice of Lighthouse Wrestling.” With his warm commanding voice, he put the hue in color commentary. His voice was unmatched.

For some events the only live coverage available was to submit text updates. The endurance of this young man was awe inspiring. From the early morning hour at the State Championships until the last blown whistle, Matt Diano’s fingers hammered away at the keyboard like a hummingbird’s wings at the air. Of the three years we covered the tournament, I can’t recollect ever seeing him budge from his seat even for a restroom break. After the quarterfinal round when most of the audience and journalists cleared the arena, Matt was adamant about continuing. He felt it would disrespect the athletes who busted their ass all season long to compete. He was right, and so we continued. Matt brought his unparalleled fountain of knowledge of the college and high school athletes to his articles. Turning a phrase like no other wrestling journalist, he was our Shakespeare. Without his passion and unique talent, Lighthouse Wrestling would have been just another site among the countless domains.

Who would have thought it was possible to combine humor and iron into some of the most memorable strength training articles? Iron Will Ellinger and I were teammates in high school. I don’t recollect him being as humorous, but he was always serious about his training. If you want to get strong, there’s no one who does it better, and there’s no one who writes about it better.

Pete, Matt, and Iron Will thank you from the bottom of my heart for the passion and support you have given towards this effort.

To all those who generously donated, we thank you. When the community rallied to support our state webcast in 2010, it was humbling and inspiring.

To all those who shared their stories for our features and interviews, we thank you. It was a pleasure bringing your story to the community.

New York wrestling is tops in my book. Thank you all for a most enjoyable three years of wrestling. I wish you the best of luck in the season to come. I know it promises to be among the best.

The site will remain up until March 2012. If there’s anything you want to keep as printed copy, now is the time to do it.

10 thoughts on “Editor’s Message”

On behalf of everyone who had the opportunity to work with Bill Miller, let me say, it has been a blessing and a much cherished treasure…Bill is/was/and will forever be the heart, soul, and backbone of LHW. I can recall countless nights when I would be putting the finishing touches on a recruiting press release at 3am and Bill would only be getting started with his work on the site.

A lot of people do not know this, but for the three years that Lighthouse operated, it was customary for Bill to be pulling daily 16 hour shifts (his regular work day + several hours on the site when he arrived home). Not once do I remember the smile leaving his face. That is how much he loved serving the wrestling audience.

As I think fondly about my time with LHW, I cannot help but consider us, the little site that could. When Bill and Irwin Loew recruited me for the site, I don’t think any of us knew the impact that it could have on both the sport and on us as individuals. In 2010 we were named the National Wrestling Media Association’s “Website of the Year”. However, if you asked any of us, it was never about awards; We simply wanted to shine a light on the deserving young student-athletes who busted their butts day-in and day-out. We wanted to force the rest of the media to elevate their game and offer more thorough and upgraded forms of coverage. In hindsight, we accomplished these goals and more.

As I write this, there is a tear in my eye. Often times, the cliche goes that college will be the best time of your life. For me, the three years working with some of the finest people in the sport equated to the best time of my life. I may write 1000s more articles or forum posts in my lifetime; But, nothing will be as special to me as all of the material published under the LHW banner…You welcomed us into your homes and made every second of the experience rewarding. To all of the loyal readers, despite being something of a word smith, at a time like this, words cannot capture how touched you have made me feel.

As I sign off, from the bottom of my heart, I extend my thanks to Bill and Pete. You guys are much more than my partners and colleagues; you are my dear friends and I have your backs anytime, any place !

you are a good dude Matt Diano…and Bill, no one will ever know how much time and effort it took from YOU to create and run a wrestling site with such rich content. I was just along for the ride…and it was a good time my friend. Will always love the sport and the time I spent as part of LHW.

To Bill and the rest of the Lighthouse team. You guys did an amazing job.

I remember one year when I couldn’t make it to the states and me and my friends watched it on the big screen of their PlayStation 3. It was awesome!

Great coverage and great support for all of Long Island wrestling. I am very grateful for the opportunity to write for Lighthouse even for just one season. Thanks and good luck in your future endeavors!

Lighthouse brought a new level of coverage to New York Wrestling. They did a very admirable job in all aspects. Thank you to all who have worked so hard to bring us this site. One special thanks goes to Coach Ellinger for giving us valuable information on strength training and related stuff. His ability to impove athletic performance is second to none. Good luck to all

I also had the honor and pleasure of working for LHW with Bill at the UE Duals, Eastern States Classic, and the NYS Tournament. A true gentleman and a tireless worker….best of luck in the future Bill. I’m sure our paths will cross! Mike Carey